


Monstrum Orientis

by NotSoConspicuous



Category: RWBY
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:28:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27223510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotSoConspicuous/pseuds/NotSoConspicuous
Relationships: Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Consequences

Anger, fear, disgust, and regret...

Those were the last things he felt before succumbing to his wounds.

Left to die in the destruction of Kuroyuri, he expected a quick and righteous death by the beasts that infested the city. Little did he know that the beasts would ignore him entirely.

Groaning, feelings he never felt before assaulted his already battered mind. 

His throat felt dry, his abdomen felt empty as a cavern, and everything felt oddly warm.

Faintly, he felt a small pair of hands attempt to shake him.

"Mister wolf man? Are you ok?" a childlike voice ventured.

The lone smell of urine made its way into his nose, and he knew it was safe to turn to the voice's source.

His muscles screamed out in protest as he pathetically rolled over and opened his eyes.

Immediately pain stuck his left eye hard, causing him to cry out in pain and closed his eyes again.

"Your eye is hurt, try opening the other one, slowly." a different child cautioned.

Light found his right eye and an unusual scene unveiled before him. He was lying down under a raised house... and he was with those _**brats**_.

He thought about killing them right then and there, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. The thought alone horrified him.

'These tiny morsels are not responsible for my fall, I have only myself to blame.' he concluded.

"H-How am I-" he went into a coughing fit midway through his sentence. His throat still felt incredibly dry.

"Here." a small boy with a neat bun of black hair and green robes handed him a glass. With a trembling hand he took it, never before feeling so weak. He spilled a little bit of water in front of him, and then downed the tiny amount stored in the confines of the glass.

The boy's magenta eyes watched intently as the water disappeared. The 'wolf man' took a moment to breathe before continuing.

"I'm not dead. How?" the man asked.

"Your aura kept you alive, but just barely." the boy replied.

'Aura? I've never had an aura before... why now?' the man pondered.

His eye scanned over to the boy's companion, a little ginger girl with a black jacket and pink shorts. She wore a white shirt under the jacket with a pink heart in the middle, her feet were protected by pink tennis shoes.

Her turquoise eyes stared back at him. The smell of urine had decreased in intensity, but had not entirely gone away.

A sound like a malfunctioning radio assaulted his hearing, causing the ears on the top of his head to twitch. His right ear hurt, probably wounded in the fight.

"Stomach feels... strange." the man wheezed. A piece of bread was promptly handed to him, and he quickly devoured it. The taste was odd, but not bad. The soothing effect of the food caused him to lie down again, giving him time to think.

'I feel like staying on the ground forever,' he admitted to himself, 'but I must persevere.' He began to think over the issue of the children, thinking the only option would be taking them to an orphanage. Then he remembered just how appalling the orphanages in Mistral were, and made a decision. Opening his eyes, he resolved to repay the children that he owed so much.

"You two," he lazily gestured to the two children, "what are your names?"

"I am Lie Ren, and this is Nora." the boy introduced. Nora gave a small wave and even managed a smile. "What is your name mister?" Nora inquired.

The man had never told his true name to anyone, making it one of his most prized possessions. However, he figured he owed it to the children he owed his life.

"My name is Jaune Arc." he said for the first time. Saying it out loud sounded strangely pleasant, especially compared to 'monster' or 'freak'.

"I am not going to abandon you two." he stated. "Are there any beasts left around this town?" Jaune asked.

Ren nodded. "I would use my semblance, but I used all my aura protecting you and Nora." the boy explained. He'd have to thank the boy properly later, having no time to do it at that moment.

Feeling warmth course through his body, Jaune crawled out from under the raised house to greet the ruins of Kuroyuri. His body no longer rebelling against him, he stood tall and gestured to the kids to follow.

Towering over his saviors, Jaune's long, messy, black hair shifted slightly in the breeze. Steadying his tail, he stalked carefully with kids in tow among the ruins.

With each step his armor quietly clanked, moving largely uncontested until they reached the entrance to the town. An ursa sought to cut them off and kill them.

Unsheathing massive claws, Jaune would deny the beast a chance to kill more innocents.

He would protect the children who sheltered him from danger.

He would make sure they didn't rot in an orphanage.

He would teach them how to survive.

He would adopt them as his own.

* * *

**Gonna be a time skip for next chapter, got a bunch of stuff planned. It's been hard to write lately, school and all that.**

**Jaune definitely needs some clarification. Let me list the important traits real quick.**

**1\. Long ass wolf tail**

**2\. Big wolf ears on top of his head (right ear has a scar)**

**3\. Sharp teeth (makes eating food a pain in the ass)**

**4\. Left eye missing (depth perception = shit)**

**5\. T A L L (8 feet)**

**6\. Massive claws**

**7\. Great sense of smell (smell code N2: urine = fear)**

**As to why he breaks the 'One Trait Rule' when it comes to the faunus, that shall be left a mystery. I have a sneaking suspicion everyone already knows what is gonna happen, but maybe that's just me.**

**For the next chapter, Ren and Nora develop differently from the canon because of their raising by Jaune. Their personalities change, their appearances change, their weapons change, you get the idea.**

**Tell me in the comments whether this is a good or shit idea and what I need to improve.**

**Until next chapter, Tchau Tchau.**


	2. Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fight, a talk, and new gear.

In the cold winter of Anima one man walked alone through the forest.

He wore armor from a bygone age, forged from heavy gauge steel. Covering his face was a helmet with a cavalry mask, and covering his back was a pristine cloak. In stark contrast to the condition of his cloak, his armor sported many battle scars. Most notable among these scars was the left horn on his helmet, which was cut in half. A gigantic sword was stored in a sheath on his back, recently refined and sharpened.

The smell of oil and fire guided him to his objective, leading him towards a small clearing. There two people seemed determined to tear each other asunder with cheap and crude equipment. In actuality the two fighters, Lie Ren and Nora Malleus, had known each other for years and were merely sparring. Ren was dressed in light, leather armor while Nora had made heavy, scrap metal armor for herself. Nora would swing her crude war hammer about while Ren would dodge and inflict small amounts of damage to his sister's aura with his dual short swords.

The fight was not to last though, as Ren soon triumphed over his sister in arms. Sheathing his short swords, Ren placed a boot right below Nora's chest.

"Ren you meanie! Get off me!" Nora whined.

"I won, you lost." Ren stated with a teasing smile. "It's 3-2." he continued, lying through his teeth.

"No, it's 2-2 dummy. If you could count we wouldn't be having this problem." Nora insulted. "Now get off me!"

"Make me." he challenged, a grievous mistake on his part.

Nora took hold of his ankle and yanked hard, causing him to fall on top of her. They wrestled in the snow while Jaune, amused by the situation, stepped forward from his spot in the shade.

Holding his helmet by his side he let out a hearty chuckle. Both siblings froze on the spot before scrambling to their feet.

"We're sorry-" they both started in unison, but stopped as Jaune's hand rose to silence them. He had not changed much since they were both ten years old. His hair _had_ changed from a rough, filthy black to a soft, vibrant blond, but numerous scars still marred his face. Something resembling a crude asterisk had been carved into the empty space where his left eye used to be, now partially covered by an eyepatch. One long, diagonal cut on his left cheek, three near misses on his right eye, one vertical cut near the right of his forehead, two on his nose, three near his lips, and one on the left of his chin. Their caretaker's face was nothing short of a jigsaw puzzle.

"There is no reason to be apologetic my children, you won't be seventeen forever you know. As you both _do_ know, the time for us to travel to Vale grows ever closer. There you two will train to be huntsmen, and speaking of training-" he paused, revealing two new weapons in one hand, "you should take some time to get used to your _new weapons_."

As the weapons were greedily snatched from his hold, many smells bombarded Jaune's nose. The smell of roses though, was the most important. It was how he identified happiness.

Examining his weapons, Ren was confused by the appearance of his new blades.

He had designed the dual dao swords himself, so the design was not the issue. What mystified him was the material of the blades themselves.

The blades had a watery pattern which gave the appearance of the swords a magical quality, like it was made from liquid metal.

He took his swords to Jaune, who cocked his head a little in confusion. "Is something the matter nephew?"

Ren had preferred that Jaune not call him 'son', for he still lived with the memory of his deceased family. 

"No, I just wanted to thank you for the decorations on the blade. I'm guessing it wasn't cheap." he replied nervously.

"Decorations?" Jaune took a knee, gently taking Ren's hands in his own giant hands, "These are no decorations nephew."

"Then what purpose do they serve?" Ren pressed, confusion clear in his voice.

"It's a special type of steel that was thought lost to history. My family just so happened to teach me the forging process, making me one of the only people who truly knows the ins and outs of the metal; including its lengthy history."

"Dad please." Nora groaned, having tuned in to the conversation and not looking for a history lesson.

"Alright, alright, I'll try not to bore your sister to death. All you need to know is that nothing on Remnant is going to break those swords and that you can thank your uncle later."

As Ren moved on to testing the dust component of his blades, Jaune then advised Nora on the use of her _unique_ war hammer.

At a glance the hammer seemed relatively normal on paper, despite its rather eccentric designer. It was made from solid steel and was a two handed weapon. It came with a twisted wire wrapped grip, two steel guards, and a twisted and studded handle.

Completely and utterly normal... except for the thruster on the back of the hammer's head.

"Now where is that trigger..." Nora pondered, her right hand rediscovering a big red trigger, "Ah, there it-"

Jaune swiftly snatched the weapon of mass destruction from her hands before she could hurt herself.

"Hey! I just found out where the fun part is!" Nora complained.

"Well first, let me give you a demonstration, so you don't burn yourself to a crisp." Jaune scolded.

The large wolf faunus assumed the proper stance, then began his demonstration.

"To keep from burning yourself, only activate the thruster midway through the swing," He raised the hammer overhead and swung down, activating the thrusters on the way down. As the hammer came crashing down the thruster roared, sending snow and chunks of ground flying into the air on impact. "like so." Jaune finished.

He could've sworn he saw stars in Nora's eyes, accompanied by the smell of lime.

* * *

All through the afternoon the two siblings experimented with their weapons while Jaune rested against a tree. An alarm went off on the wolf faunus's scroll, prompting him to get up before it got too dark.

"All right kids, let's start heading back to camp!" he called out, his statement being met with mixed reception.

Eventually they reached the spot where they pitched their tent. Jaune sat down at their campfire and gestured to the others to take a seat as well.

The man sat still for a while. His face was tense, he seemed to be deep in thought. Ren and Nora exchanged a look before Jaune continued.

"Recalling what I said earlier today... you two will be off to Beacon soon enough. Remember that I'll come with you to Vale, but, as I've said before, I cannot afford for all of us to attend a huntsman academy." he reiterated, not having the heart to look his children in the eyes.

"It is technically possible," he revealed to the siblings' collective surprise, "but it would require us all to get part time jobs. However, I do not wish to burden you two with something like that for my sake. I'll be taking up multiple jobs in Vale to pay for tuition and other expenses so that you may use your time as you please. Make some worthy allies, study hard, and make sure to look out for each other."

He looked up, tilting his head slightly to the left. Nora was breathing raggedly, one hand covering her mouth while a few tears silently rolled down her cheeks. She had always tried to be strong, but she was an emotional girl deep down.

Ren could hold it in better, was more tranquil. However, at a time like this the distress was still plain on his face. The smell of old, rotting leather wafted into his nose, making their sadness all the more clear. Jaune smiled.

"I love you, you little scoundrels. Give 'em hell for your old man, show them what you're made of." he finished, his serene smile turning into a toothy grin.

In an instant Nora was upon him, followed by Ren. Tears flowed freely as each sibling took a shoulder, audibly sobbing while whispering watery words of gratitude and sadness. He put his arms around them, dead leather and something unknown overpowering his sense of smell. It was good that they were crying now instead of when they boarded a ship for Beacon, he wouldn't embarrass his children on their first day.

As night time approached everyone discarded their armor, allowing the depression parade made its way into the tent. Jaune curled up around his children like he had done when they were ten. Nora was wrapped tight in his burly arms while Ren was secured within the confines of his large, soft tail.

They fell asleep like that, lying on top of their sleeping bags. All they ever needed was each other to keep them safe. They would always be there for each other...

_**always.**_

* * *

**Hope y'all enjoyed, although I admit that some thievery is at play.**

**For starters, Jaune's armor is literally just Legate Lanius's armor without the red frill and the forehead spike on the helmet, and his sword is just a refined bumper sword with the license plate taken off. (For those of you who don't know what a bumper sword is: it's a car bumper that has been pounded out and sharpened into a thick, heavy blade with an exhaust pipe as the handle)**

**Ren's dual dao swords were heavily inspired by Zuko's swords. (The only real difference being that Ren's are made from damascus steel)**

**Nora's war hammer was inspired by the super sledge design used in Fallout 4. (Only it's not a sledge hammer and all the external wiring/electronics have been removed)**

**One last thing, if you're confused by the whole random smell thing and how they somehow represent emotions, it's because that's Jaune's semblance.**

**That's it, he can smell emotions. (Speaking of which smell code P8: lime skittles = awe)**

**If you feel like the scents assigned to each emotion sound arbitrary, it's because they are. I looked far and wide, but unfortunately there's no exact science for how emotions smell. (Out of all of them, I'd say the scent I assigned to lust is my favorite)**

**Until next chapter, Tchau Tchau.**


End file.
